


B-Side

by Dragestil



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-02-02 13:37:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12727596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragestil/pseuds/Dragestil
Summary: Taako looks back on the mistake that changed everything.





	B-Side

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during/immediately following The Eleventh Hour. If you would like to see more of my work, please visit my [Tumblr](http://dragestil.tumblr.com)

It was funny, all things considered. He had spent six years of his life running from his past, and now he suddenly knew the truth. Six years of his life had been clouded by the shadow of his greatest error, and it was all unravelled in a space beyond time. It was only natural for the dreams to return, then. He had been putting off sleep since they had set up camp. Even after Merle called it a night, he lingered just outside of his tent. When Magnus appeared, he had gone over to ask his opinion on everything. And then they had said good night, and he had realised that he could avoid sleep no longer. He was exhausted.

The scene began almost as soon as Taako’s eyes closed. He was back on the road, exploring new towns frequently as he toured with Sazed. They held sold out shows wherever they went - or so he chose to dream. His name was in lights, and his brand was easily recognisable. ‘Sizzle It Up with Taako’ was everything he could have dreamed of and more. He was certain that he would go far.

His dreams set him down close to the moment of his greatest disaster. He was preparing backstage for one of their biggest shows ever at Glamor Springs. He had all of his ingredients lined up and ready. His chef’s hat was just slightly off kilter - precisely how he liked it. Sazed was checking all of the equipment on stage one last time. Through the lens of hindsight, Taako knew now that his closest companion’s actions were less than benevolent.

Still, these things were behind him, and without the Temporal Chalice he could do nothing to stop the flow of time. He took to the stage to start his show, beaming widely at the large crowd assembled to see him cook. He thanked them all for coming before he began talking about his planned meal. He motioned to Sazed to bring out the ingredients as he listed them all. He tried to keep track of Sazed to see when he slipped in the poison, but his earlier self had no hint of suspicion that anything could go wrong.

He watched himself performing basic magic to spice up the show and the cooking itself. He internally cringed at his lack of finesse and the incredible simplicity of all the work. After training, it looked amature and tasteless. He watched the elderberries spring up from the bowl and scatter themselves around the chicken as garnish. Later, he would think back on that spell with an anguished feeling in his gut. It had been the only thing he could think of when considering what went so dreadfully wrong. 

“Now that we’ve got everything prepared, who would like to taste some of Taako’s tasty chicken?” he said as he looked around at the audience and gestured to the meal he had prepared.

The crowd all cheered, and he smiled at their adoration even as he knew what cruel fate was soon to come. He began to divide up the multiple chickens into single portions on plates set out by Sazed. The people all waited patiently until the food was served, and then proceeded to tuck in to the professionally cooked meal.

The memory froze and Taako took a breath, pulled from his body to survey the scene as a whole. Outside of himself, he could see the looks Sazed was shooting him and the audience. He could see behind the stage to the prep area. He could grasp the entirety of the situation with hindsight’s perfect vision. He wondered now if there was something he could have done - or more accurately if there was something he  _ should _ have done. Perhaps none of this would have happened if he had just allowed Sazed to participate more in the show. Perhaps keeping Sazed from learning how to cook would have stopped his betrayal. But it was too late now.

He could still hear the cup-woman’s voice in his head, though. He could see her trying to tempt him into altering the past. In the moment, he had managed to brush it all off as if he had nothing he could even want to change. There was so much he could change.

He could have properly learned magic, could have known that there was no way he had faltered in making the food. He could have brought Sazed into the onstage show, or he could have just never brought him onboard in the first place. He could have tasted the food first himself, and realised there was trouble. In just that one day, there were so many other paths he could have gone down. He could have still been cooking, still been famous if only he had taken a different route.

But Fate was immutable. Even the Temporal Chalice seemed to know that. Perhaps it had not been the most obvious, but it had been there underlying all the promises. If any one of them had chosen to take the chalice, they would have to swear to walk different paths. They would have to keep far from the actions of this timeline, or else all would collapse. Choosing a different fate could not negate the true course. There was a superior timeline, and it was the one they were currently in. 

The dream faded away and Taako was left to wake up alone in his tent. He sighed and pulled out his diary, a small and worn thing kept in his innermost pocket. He had carefree and ever-joking appearances to maintain that could have been sullied by keeping a journal. He flipped backward through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. There it was - the day six years ago when his life changed irrevocably.

‘ _ Today we have a show in Glamor Springs again. Sazed has been saying for weeks that he wants to join me onstage, but that’s bad for branding! It’s not called Sizzle It Up with Sazed; it’s called Sizzle It Up with Taako! People want me, Taako. I told him that, and he seemed to understand. Well he said he understands. It shouldn’t be a problem. He seems excited about today’s show at least. -Taako _ ’

He had written the first entry while they were still travelling. He often wrote in his diary when they were on the road. It was the time when he was least likely to be caught, since Sazed was always busy getting them to their destination. Plus he always felt like he could think more clearly when they were in motion. It was easy to get caught up in things when you were stationary.

‘ _ It was a disaster. I’ll never be able to show my face in Glamor Springs again. I don’t know if I can ever even cook again. Sazed ran off as soon as he could. I can’t blame him, not after what happened. The food was bad - poisoned I think by a stupid mistake. I used magic on the elderberries, and they must have turned into nightshade. How else could it have happened? The audience...they’re dead. We only just made it out of town before the news got out. How could this happen? I’ll have to find a new job, and move far away. No one else can know what happened - and I can’t ever put people at risk like that. I guess magic is all I have now. I can’t be a chef. Not anymore. -Taako _ ’

He set the journal down for a moment as he closed his eyes. He could still remember vividly the ache in his chest as he had written those words. He could still see himself, hiding out on the outskirts of town trying to figure out his next move. He was alone for the first time in ages, no friend to pull him out of the darkness and help him plan for the future. Everything he had worked so hard for was gone, never again to be seen. He opened his eyes with a sigh and picked the diary back up. He flipped to the next blank page after his last entry.

‘ _ I didn’t poison those people in Glamor Springs. I did nothing wrong at all. It wasn’t my cooking. It was him - Sazed. I thought I knew him. I thought we were friends. But I guess I was wrong. He was jealous of me. I thought he understood why I wanted to do the show alone, but he didn’t. He poisoned them. And maybe he was trying to poison me too. He didn’t say anything to stop me from trying a bite - even though I didn’t in the end. Would he have stopped me if I did try? Magnus thinks we did the right thing though. Not taking the chalice I mean. Things would be...different if we changed the past. Maybe he’s right. I don’t think I’m the same as before. If I was still doing the show, I wouldn’t be with the guys now. And I wouldn’t be a wizard probably. And like what’s the point if I’m not a wizard right? That’s what I’ve got to think. I didn’t kill those people. Sazed did. I’m still the best chef ever. -Taako _ ’

He set his journal down with an air of finality. Maybe now that he had thought about it all thoroughly it would at last be left in the past. Maybe he could forget the accident that had shaped his life for so long. He had doubts, of course, but it was foolish to focus on them too much. There would always be doubts, after all, and half of his life was just ignoring those and all the warning signs too. It kept him sane and moving forward with a smile. What more could he want?

He nodded to himself and put away the diary and his pen. He poked his head outside of his tent for a moment just to make sure it was still night. There was plenty of time to worry about things later. With the moon still high overhead, now was the time for more sleep. All of those repetitive loops through time really exhausted an elf. He tucked himself back in, snuggling beneath his favourite blanket.

“Goodnight, Sazed, you piece of shit,” he said with a faint smile. “Your macaroons were awful and you could have never been a professional chef anyway.”


End file.
